


Everything comes back to you

by bluemetgreenat18



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Diners, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Engagement, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining, not between h&l tho, or any of the main characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 04:36:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8608243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemetgreenat18/pseuds/bluemetgreenat18
Summary: Harry owns a diner, and Louis' been coming in at 2am the past two months. Cue pining, mischievous friends, and a lot of fluff.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy. This fic has been done for like a month, I'm just lazy, so here it is! This is like my baby, so please be honest with me about how you feel.  
> Thank you Rae (@louiharri) and Emmy (@tequiladimples) for editing and nice words <3  
> Thank you to my Larry GC for existing, you guys mean a lot to me  
> Enjoy!

“In Style” is a 24hr diner catering to those stumbling in too early for the sun to rise, those looking for a classic American dinner of a cheeseburger with french fries and a milkshake, and truck drivers drinking way too much coffee to get through their shift. The waitress uniforms are the cliche pale pink dress with a white collar and apron, although the girls always have the option to wear pants and a shirt instead of the dress. The cooks have high white collared shirts with khaki pants, white paper hats adorned the top of their heads. The floor is a black and white checkerboard of tiles, the white walls trimmed with red are covered in old movie posters and random assorted plaques for awards. All of the booths had greenish-blue seats, most in need of serious reupholstering, the tables are covered in doodles and knife scratches that accumulated over the years and years the diner had been opened. High school students came to this place after their classes ended and hopped up on the spinny chairs, ordering milkshakes and french fries, some would take their books to the back tables and quietly study, while also sharing jokes with the staff because they were regulars, seen nearly everyday. It all felt straight out of a movie from the 80’s or 90’s, the only thing missing was everyone having a southern twang to their voice. 

Harry loves it. The diner has been in his family since his grandparents bought it back in the 1940’s, and it was passed down to Harry’s father. When his parents divorced two years ago, his dad packed up all his things, moved across the country, and left the restaurant for Harry to manage. So there he was, 22 years old, fresh out of UNI with a major in photography to his name, and he was already the owner of a steady business, and the most popular diner in town. Harry loves the cliche American theme, loves the old movie posters from films that came out when his dad was a child. He loves the booths where so many memories are made, from first kisses stolen over milkshakes, to proposals where the rings were typically  _ in _ the food, and he can remember nearly every time he sang his heart out for a child’s birthday.  

Another perk to the job of being owner is being able to pick his work hours. He has always preferred late nights, the only others working the graveyard shift are Niall, the Irish chef with messy bleach blond hair and a bright smile always on his face even well into the A.M, Liam, another chef with chocolate hair and eyes to match and a kind, typically concerned looking, resting face, Zayn, a waiter who always wears tan skinny jeans because he can’t stand the loose khakis, also Liam’s boyfriend (Harry has seen them catch many kisses over the window separating the kitchen and the front counter, and his heart always warms at the sight of such easy affection, and last, but certainly not least. Barbara, the blue-eyed brunette waitress who adores the pale pink dresses, also Niall’s sorta-kinda not really girlfriend. 

Together, with Harry as the host, the five make up the nightly staff, and Harry loves it, because he was able to hang out with his best friends while working a job he loves. But lately, there was another reason he loves his late night shift. The reason in the shape of a man, a man with beautiful cerulean eyes, and lovely cheekbones, light scruff covering part of his face, a messy caramel fringe peeking out from under his jumper hood, who Harry affectionately named “Sleepyhead”. He has been stumbling in the past two months, around 3-4am, three times a week. Harry always lead him to the booth in the back corner, where he would promptly collapse into his seat and ask for black coffee. Harry would quickly agree, then run off to tell Zayn that he was taking over his table. 

This night wasn’t different from the others, “Usual booth, sir?” Harry asks, and the beautiful man nodded dazedly. Harry grabbed a white mug, and a fresh pot of coffee, then led him to his usual booth, where he slipped in, crossed his arms, put the side of his head onto his arms, and stared up at Harry with bleary eyes and a soft smile. Harry felt his heart lurch, and quickly swallowed past the lump in his throat. Pouring out a cup of the dark brew, he started to talk again, “What would you like to eat, sir?” he pulls out a pen and pad of paper from the black apron around his waist, and Sleepyhead’s smile grew until small crinkles appear at the corner of his eyes. 

“Why don’t  _ yooouu _ pick for  _ meee _ ,” he drawls, and starts to giggle softly, covering his mouth with his jumpers sleeve, and Harry is so endeared by this soft looking man in front of him. 

“How about pancakes with sausage?” Harry offers after the giggles subsided. 

“With maple syrup?” Sleepyhead asks, a hopeful look in his eyes, his bottom lip pouted, and Harry gave a light laugh at his adorable expression. 

“Yes, Sleepyhead,” Harry teases, “I will bring you your own jar of syrup,” Sleepyheads pout broke into another smile. 

“That’s Mr. Sleepyhead to you!” he clarifies, “Or, Louis is fine too, if you would prefer,” Harry can’t help the grin that takes over his face at finally learning the man's name after two months of pining. 

“Coming right up, Louis,” Harry smiles. 

“Thank you, Harry,” Louis replies, lightly mocking, but then he smiles and puts his head back down sleepily, and Harry couldn’t be offended. 

Walking over to the window separating the kitchen, he calls inside “I need an order of pancakes with sausage, please,” and from behind a metal rack, a paper hat and a pair of blue eyes appear. 

“Placing orders, eh?” Harry can hear Niall’s teasing grin, “I take it your boy’s here then?” he asks, and Harry fought the heat rising to his cheeks, and fixes his face into a scowl. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Horan,” Harry says coldly, Niall’s face breaking into an even wider grin, “He’s not my "boy”, he is a customer.“ Niall cackles at that.

"You know, mate,” Zayn joins their conversation, swinging behind the counter to grab the turkey club sitting on the window sill, “It would help your adorable crush if you actually learned the guy’s name,” he winks, and Niall laughs harder. 

Harry balls up a napkin next to him and tosses it at Zayn, “I’ll have you know, I do actually know his name, it’s Louis,” his face relaxes into a small smile at the thought of the beautiful sleepy man. 

“Wow, a name? That’s practically second base, Haz,” Liam’s brown eyes appear next to Niall’s blue ones about the shelf, and they dance with mischief. Harry opens his mouth to respond, but is quickly cut off. 

“Leave him alone, lads,” Barbara joins them behind the counter, waking up the sleeping truck driver in one of the spinny chairs by setting down his mug louder than necessary, “I think his crush is cute,” she smiles at the truck driver who’s blinking blearily and throwing down a few singles to pay for his coffee, and stands up to lumber out of the diner. 

“Have a good night, sir!” Harry calls to the man's retreating figure, before turning back to his friends, “Thank you Babs, now you lot, leave me alone.”

“You got it, boss,” Niall winks, finally coming out from behind the shelf, a plate of food in hand, “One special order of pancakes with a side of sausage!” Harry grabs the plate from his hand, and sees that Niall took it upon himself to artfully arrange raspberries into the shape of a heart in the corner of the plate, which Harry lightly scowls at before messing them up into just a normal pile of berries. “Told you they were a special order!” Niall cackles, Liam and Zayn joining, while Barbara bites back a smile. 

“Dick.” Harry hisses at the smiling Irish man, before grabbing a near half-full jar of maple syrup, and quickly making way back to Louis. His heart starts to flutter at the sleeping man, face relaxed, breaths coming out in short little puffs from his pale pink mouth. Harry softly sets the plate on the table, and starts to lightly nudge Louis awake, “Louis,” he sings softly, “Time to wake up, love,” he says, his hands soft on Louis’ shoulders so as not to startle him. Louis gives out a small groan, slowly peeling his eyes open to stare at Harry through his lashes, and sleepily smiles at the taller man. 

“Hey, H,” he says with a raspy voice. 

“Hey, Lou,” Harry replies, nickname slipping out easily, “Can you lift your head up and eat for me?” he asks softly, and Louis nods while lifting his head. 

“Ooooh, raspberries,” Louis grabs one and pops it into his mouth with a content hum. 

“Yeah,” Harry smiles, “Well, enjoy your meal, Louis,” he tells him, meaning to turn around and walk back to his station, when a hand on his wrist stops him. He turns back to see Louis staring back up at him.

“Will you stay with me?” he asks shyly, his golden lashes fanning out when he slowly blinks up at Harry, “Sit across from me so I’m not alone. Please?” his lips quirk up at the sides, “I’ll even share my berries with yoooou,” he offers, waving one of them in the air, waggling his eyebrows making Harry laugh lightly. 

Harry wanted to say yes, wanted to stay here and make Louis smile more, but he also had a job that he should probably be doing. He looked over to where his station was near the entrance of the diner, only to see Zayn greeting a group of what looked to be stoned UNI students, and leading them to a table near Harry and Louis’ booth. When Zayn gets closer to where Harry is standing, he shoots his boss a smirk and mouths “Gotcha,” which makes Harry glare at him, until his face breaks into a smile realizing Zayn’s doing his job so Harry can sit with Louis. 

“I’d like that,” Harry replies, taking a seat across from Louis and pulling the plate closer to him so he can steal one of the berries. 

“Okay, well I have questions for you, in return for stealing my berries,” Louis says while pouring enough maple syrup to make Harry’s teeth hurt. 

“Alright, shoot.” Harry tells him, leaning forward resting his elbows on the booth. 

“Okay, how did you start working here?” Louis questions while cutting his pancakes. 

“Oh!” Harry lightly exclaims, “I actually own this place.” Louis took a large bite, and motions for him to continue, “It’s been in my family for over 70 years, and after UNI my dad moved across the country, and since my sister already had her journalist job, the diner went to me.” he answers with a shrug.

“Wow,” Louis breathes, eyebrows raised. 

“Yeah,” Harry replies, “So what do you do that gives you such strange hours?” he asks, genuinely curious about why he always shows up at this late of an hour. 

Louis took a quick bite of sausage, then drank the rest of his coffee before answering, “I’m a music producer,” he states casually, and Harry’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“Really?” he asks, awe coloring his voice, before regaining his composure, “Looking like that?” he smirks, looking under the table at Louis’ adidas sneakers and loose joggers, then back up at his oversized jumper. 

Louis’ eyes crinkle as he flashed a smile, “Yeah, yeah, you try wearing a tight button up with skinnies, as well as feet pinching dress shoes for over 12 hours straight.” he teases, “But yeah, I’m a music producer, and since I’m the youngest, the higher-ups like giving me really long hours with only a single break.”

“So that’s why you’re always exhausted.” Harry thinks aloud, and Louis nods in confrontation. 

“Yep. All in a day’s work though,” he smiles, and takes another bite of his pancakes. 

“Would you like more coffee, sir?” Barbara asks from where she showed up at the front of their booth. She sets down a full mug of coffee in front of Harry, then turned to Louis and filled his cup as well, “Enjoy,” she smiles, then winks at Harry, tossing him a few cream cups, “Six sugars and everything,” she informs him, before turning to check on the now giggling stoners.

Louis wrinkles his nose at Harry pouring two of the cream cups into his coffee, “Six sugars?” he questions, and Harry looks up with a grin, “Why the hell do you need that much? I don’t even use that much!” Harry’s grin widens. 

“You don’t need that much sugar, you’re sweet enough,” Harry mentally high-fives himself as a pretty pink colors Louis’ cheeks. 

“Yes, well, uhm,” Louis stutters, then rushes through his next words. “How old are you? Did you go to UNI? What did you study? What’s your favorite color?” he questions quickly, then hides his face in his coffee mug, pink still tinting his face. 

“Quick Fire, huh?” Harry’s asks teasingly, and Louis nods into his mug, “Alrighty. I’m 24, I did go to UNI, and I studied photography, although I did take a few business classes.” he taps his chin thoughtfully, before smirking again, “And my favorite color is blue.” Louis pulls his face away from his mug and flutters his lashes making Harry laugh, “Your turn,” he tells him, taking a drink of his sugary coffee. 

“Same questions?” Louis asks, continuing at Harry’s nod, “Okay, I’m 26, I went to UNI for music and business. And my favorite color is green,” Harry mimics Louis’ earlier lash fluttering, causing Louis to laugh. 

“Excuse me, are you finished, sir?” Zayn’s voice broke Harry and Louis, bubble, and Harry looks over to see the waiter looking at Louis, the beginning of a smirk tugging at his lips. 

Louis looks down at his empty plate with a surprised expression, Harry’s face probably matching, neither realizing he had finished eating, “Um, yeah, I am, thank you,” Louis told Zayn, who was picking up his plate and the two coffee mugs. 

“Hazza here will ring you up, have a good night,” Zayn tells Louis before walking off to the swinging kitchen doors. 

“Question, who all is working this late?” Louis asks, staring towards the kitchen. 

Harry quickly wracks his brain, “Uh, me, Niall and Liam the two chefs, Zayn, the waiter you just saw, and Barbara, the waitress from earlier who refilled your coffee,” he informs him. 

“How did you end up hiring them?” Louis asks, turning back to face Harry. 

“Niall and I were roommates in UNI all four years,” Harry explains, “Zayn and Liam lived down the hall from us in the dorms, and when they got their own flat, Niall and I found a cheap one right next door. Fresh out of UNI, the three were jobless, and I own a restaurant,” Harry shrugged, “Works out easily. Barbara applied about a week after, and two years later she still sticks around,” he continues, “There’s a lot more workers during the day, most of them old timers, but it’s not like there’s a midnight rush, so five people easily cover late nights.” he finishes, and Louis nods. 

“Makes sense,” he agrees. 

“Yeah,” they both sit in silence for a few moments, just looking at each other with small smiles on their faces, and Harry could sit there all night and just admire the sleepy, pretty man in front of him. 

Louis broke their stare-off and blinks a few times before getting up from the booth, “I should probably get home and get some sleep.”

“Yeah, of course, definitely,” Harry agrees, also getting up, “I’ll ring you up, just follow me,” he says, leading the way towards the register with Louis trailing after him. Going behind the counter, Harry sees four pairs of eyes peeking out from the kitchen window, which Harry quickly shuts with a glare, then heads to the register, “Alright, pancakes with sausage, as well as coffee. That’ll be… 7.15,” Harry tells him, and Louis pulls out his wallet and hands over a tenner. 

“Here, keep the change.” Harry takes it without complaint, and prints out his receipt. 

“Sign here, please,” Harry hands over a pen, and Louis signs it with a quick flourish. 

“I’ll see you next time, yeah?” Louis asks, biting the corner of his lip, backing up slowly 

“Of course,” Harry assures him, “No, go home, Sleepyhead,” he teases, “Go get some rest,” Louis rolls his eyes, but continues to give a crinkly-eyed smile. 

“Okay. Bye, H,” Louis says, turning to leave. 

“Bye, Lou,” Harry replies, watching him walk out the door, bell dinging when it closes. 

Harry’s face breaks into the widest grin, so wide it hurts and his cheeks are twitching, but he doesn’t care. He feels like a teenager with a crush, and it’s a giddy fluttery feeling in his heart. Louis had come in every other weekday the past two months, and Harry had never said more than a few words to him, but tonight they say together and talked for an hour, and he was just so happy. A whirring sound broke him out of his thoughts, and he turned to the kitchen to see all four of his friend’s heads stacked on each other looking out at him, Barbara on top, Liam then Zayn under her, and Niall at the bottom, all with wide grins. “How the fuck are you doing that?” Harry asks in puzzlement, and the four start to laugh and pull their heads back in the kitchen, sounds of metal hitting metal as they, presumably, step down from where they were. Harry just rolls his eyes at his wing-men (and wing-woman).  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


Harry wakes up around 3:30 later that afternoon. Two hours after Louis had walked out, the morning/daytime crew came in to relieve the five workers to clock out and go get some sleep, Perrie not allowing Harry to stay and sleep on the small couch in his office. Sitting up in his bed and yawning loudly, Harry felt a surge of gratitude towards Perrie sending him home, because he smells like old grease and is in desperate need of a shower. He stands up, digging his toes into the shag rug, and stretches his arms above his head, hearing his spine pop as it re-adjusts itself. He slowly pads into the bathroom connected to his room and turns on the shower, watching as the mirror slowly fogs up. When the water heats to the correct temperature, he undresses slowly and steps in, letting his mind wander as he goes through the usual shower routine. He thinks of his small office at the back of the kitchen, the small pile of paperwork waiting on top of his desk for him to go over. He thinks about the elderly couple that comes in every thursday and split a small vanilla shake. He thinks about raspberries, maple syrup, and the color blue.

Shaking out of his thoughts, Harry rinses out the rest of his citrus conditioner, turns off the water, and steps out of the shower to grab a towel. Wiping the fog from the mirror, Harry brushes his teeth, and runs a quick hand through his hair, using minimal gel to style his artfully messy quiff. Walking back into his room, he goes to his closet and picks out a pair of black skinnies, a charcoal button-up, and his brown suede Chelsea boots he loves so much. Grabbing his car keys off the bedside table, he quietly leaves his room and walks down to where Niall is, tapping gently on the closed door.  
“Nialler,” he calls softly, and is met with a loud groan, “I’m going in early, catch a ride with Zayn and Liam, alright?” he asks, and gets the same loud groan, which he takes for confirmation. Vowing to pick up food at work, he passes the kitchen without going in and makes way out the door, locking it behind him.  
The drive to the diner is peaceful, only a few people walking the streets, mainly parents with strollers, and a few couples holding hands, making Harry smile. The weather was beautiful, with warmth radiating everywhere, the world washed in a golden light, white puffy clouds travelling lazily across the pale blue sky. Pulling into the diner, Harry smiles at the near full parking lot, and parks in his usual spot, waving at the regulars walking by him entering/exiting the doors, before going inside himself. The overhead bell dings when Harry opens the door, and the daytime host Ashton looks up from where he was most likely coloring, and smirks at Harry, “If you try to clock in early, I’m almost positive Perrie will try to fire you,” he tells him, and Harry laughs, knowing him to be right.

“I have paperwork to do in the office, won’t even be on my feet,” Harry promises, and Ashton laughs waving him along, going back to his doodle.

“Have fun, mate,” Ashton replies, picking up the blue crayon. Harry rolls his eyes, but continues forward through the swinging kitchen doors.  
“Hey boss!” a chorus of voices calls to Harry when he walks in, and his face breaks into a smile at the enthusiasm of his staff. He took a certain pride in how amazing and happy his staff is on the job.

“Perrie’s gonna kill yoouu,” Josh lowly sings to Harry, while Sandy snorts and flips a burger next to him.

“Hush you,” Harry scolds, not unkindly,” Hey Sandy, whose burger?” the blond chef smiles and slides the burger on a plate filled with fries.

“A certain boss, who has no idea when to stop working,” he hands over the plate with a smirk, “All work and no play makes a dull boy, Mr. Styles,” he teases, the other chefs snickering, while Harry rolls his eyes.

“Get back to work, lads,” he orders, then turns to his office and walks in, before shutting the door, muting their laughs. Harry starts to eat his food, spinning around in his desk while he waits for the computer to boot up.

Harry spends the next three hours handling paperwork that needed to be done, including the bills and taxes. Perrie stuck her head in around an hour into Harry’s work, and shook her head, before smiling softly and closing the door again. After finishing what he needed to, he leans back in the leather chair, cracking his knuckles and neck, smiling triumphantly at the mound of finished work. He grabs his finished plate, and walks into the kitchen, significantly less crowded than when he first came in as the later the night turns, the sun having already set.

“He’s alive!” one of the waitresses Jade calls, and everyone in the kitchen turns to him offering greetings. Perrie’s head pops up in the window, and she grins at him.

“Hey boss!” she calls, and Harry waves, walking over, “Babs clocked in early, the other boys are coming in their usual time,” her voice lowering as he grows nearer, and he nods, grabbing his name tag from the cupboard near the door, “The dinner rush has already ended, luckily early,” she continued, “Only stragglers coming in now, so a pretty slow night I’d say,” she turns to him as he walks out the door, and she straightens his nametag, running her hand through his hair, which he smiles at.

“Thanks, Pez,” he smiles softly, then walks over to Ashton, greeting the newest person to walk in.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


At around 9:30, Niall, Zayn, and Liam come in, jostling each other as they walk through to doors, Zayn and Liam going to clock in, Niall waiting for Barbara to come by, and, when she does, grabbing her by the waist and kissing her sweetly, making her laugh into it.

“Seeya later, boss!” Sandy tells Harry, him and Josh walking by to leave. Josh waves without saying anything, sleep coloring his face, and Harry waves in return. Ashton left about 30 minutes prior, leaving Harry to work alone. The rest of the afternoon staff had slowly trickled out as the clock ticked on.

“How long have you been working, Haz?” Niall asks, arm still wrapped around Barbara’s waist.

“Only like an hour, Ni,” Harry replies, “I’m not gonna overwork myself,” he promises, and Niall nods, before heading to the kitchen to clock in. Barbara throws a smile at Harry, going back to check on the family of three with a small boy screaming for ice cream. Harry turns back towards the door at the sound of a throat clearing, a young couple looking back at him, “Table for two?” Harry asks, and the two nod, “Right this way, please,” he grabs two menus, and leads them to the right side of the restaurant where Zayn was sitting with a bored expression, which perked up as he saw two customers. Harry sits them at a small two person booth pressed against the wall, and sets down their menus on each side, “Here you are, a waiter will be with-” Zayn swoops in right at that moment.

“Hello, I’m Zayn, your waiter for the evening,” he throws down two straws and takes out his pad of paper and pen, “What would you like to drink?” he asks, and while the couple is looking at their menu, Harry slips away, leaving the three behind, and goes back to coloring the kids menus with a dark blue crayon.

“Excuse me?” a stutt makes him look up, and he sees the taller of the two girls he just sat looking at him with a pale face.

“Hiya,” Harry replies in a pleasant, easy voice, “You alright?” he asks, noting the slight tremor in her body.

“I- uh, I need to-” she stutters, “The waiter told me you’re the owner?” she asks, avoiding the question, and he nods, “Can I ask a favor?” she questions in a rush, her breathing speeding up as well as her voice, and Harry reaches forward, putting his hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, take a deep breath for me, love,” he tells her, and she nods taking a deep shuddering breath, slowly evening them out, “Now, what do you need?” he asks.

She reaches into her jacket pocket with a shaky hand, and takes out a shiny silver band, making Harry’s own pulse start to quicken, “She wants a chocolate milkshake for dessert, and I want this to be on the straw,” she tells him with shiny eyes, and Harry stares at the ring.

“It’s beautiful,” he breathes quietly, and she nods.

“I’ve known since the first date I’ve wanted to marry her,” she confides, her breath catching. Harry meets her eyes, and closes his hand around hers.

“When you order the shake, ask for extra cherries,” he instructs her, lightly pulling the ring from her grasp, and she nods, grinning ear to ear, and pulls him into a hug which he gladly returns.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she repeatedly says, squeezing him tightly, and laughs lightly, patting her back, before pulling her away and making direct eye contact, hands on each shoulder.

“She’s going to absolutely love it, and you’re going to be okay,” he assures her, and she nods determinedly, “No, go back to your girl,” he turns her around and gives a light push to the space between her shoulder blades. He watches as she heads back to the table, her girlfriend smiling at her with a fond expression. Harry turns back to the kitchen and quickly power walks through the doors, the four others already inside, looking at him with a confused expression at his suddenness.

“We have a proposal,” he tells them in a low voice, and their reactions are immediate. Niall whoops loudly, Barbara claps her hands excitedly, Liam clutches his heart, and Zayn looks at his boyfriend with a small smile, “Shhhhhh,” Harry shushes, zero malice in his voice, because he was just as excited, “Zayn, when they order dessert, the brunette is going to ask for extra cherries in her milkshake, that’s the ring. Put it on the straw, not in the actual drink though,” Harry orders, and Zayn nods in confrontation.

“Make sure you tell all of us!!!” Barbara tells Zayn excitedly, “I love proposals,” she swoons, pretending to faint against Niall’s shoulder, making them all laugh.

“Alright team, back to work!” Harry commands, sashaying back out the door.  
“Yes, sir!” four voices call back to him, and he can’t help but grin. _Man, I love my job,_ he thinks to himself. Looking up from the floor, a caramel fringe and over-sized clothes stops him in his tracks.

“Harry!” Louis yells excitedly, looking more awake than Harry’s ever seen him.

“Hey, Louis,” Harry says nervously, Louis’ smile practically blinding. “What are you doing here before 3AM?” he jokes, trying to make his voice even.

Louis laughs, making his eyes crinkle at Harry’s heart flutter, “I was called into work early this morning, and since it’s my usual day off, they let me go early, and I was hungry, so where else would I go besides my favorite diner?” he asks grinning, and Harry feels himself blush.

“Okay, usual table?” Harry asks.

Louis nods, then with steely confidence says, “Have dinner with me,”

Harry’s mouth drops open, and he looks at Louis, who looks back with a glint in his blue eyes, “What?”

“I would really like it if you come and join me for dinner,” Louis says, clearly pronouncing every syllable, same confidence in his voice, and Harry only stares, tongue practically in his throat, words not forming.

“What a coincidence!” Barbara nudges into their conversation, “Harry’s going on break right now, and I’m sure he’d love to have dinner with you!” she grabs two menus and motions for the boys to follow her back to their usual booth, which was slightly diagonal from the soon to be engaged couple. Louis smiles at Harry as they sit down, and Harry smiles back, hoping it doesn’t look like a grimace. At their table, she had already set down their menus, and had her pad and pen out, ready for them to order, “Do you know what you’d like to eat? Drink?” she asks expectantly, staring between them. Louis gives a quick once-over to the menu, before setting it down again.

“A coke would be lovely, and a turkey club please,” he smiles at her, handing over his menu.

“Excellent choice, sir” she winks, scribbling down, then turns to Harry, “And you, mister. I know about the burger, so you’re having a salad. You need your greens.” she scribbles again.

Harry pouts at her, “Can I atleast have my sweet tea?” he asks, jutting out his lower lip, looking up at her, and she rolls her eyes.

“Of course, you need your caffeine,” she teases, then grabs both their menus, walking off with a joking waggle to her hips.

Louis turns to Harry with another grin, “Hi,” he says, reaching forward to grab Harry’s hand, making the other boy jump slightly, knocking his hand into the salt shaker.

“Oops,” Harry mumbles, looking at their clasped hands, fighting down the heat in his cheeks.

“Is it okay for me to hold your hand?” Louis asks, and Harry looks up to see his concerned expression, “It’s fine if not. Sorry, I should’ve asked first,” he starts to retract his hand, but Harry quickly takes it back, intertwining their fingers.

“No, wait, this is perfect, it just startled me,” Harry explains his earlier jump, and Louis smiles, squeezing his hand.

“Okay,” Harry squeezes back, “Do you work here every night? Figured as the boss you wouldn’t have so many hours,” Louis questions, smiling at Barbara setting down their drinks.

“I actually choose to work every night, and so do the others,” Barbara snorts, but she doesn’t say anything before walking off, “She’s kidding, she loves it. If I didn’t work everyday, I’d probably get bored sitting at home doing nothing. This keeps me sane,” Harry jokes, and preens at Louis’ laugh.

“What’s it like owning a diner?” Louis asks, taking a sip of his drink.

“I love it,” Harry replies easily, “I’ve been coming here since I was a baby since my dad owned it, I practically grew up in these booths. Now that it’s actually mine, it just seems like the easiest job in the world because of how much fun I have while here, and the amount of love I have for it,” 

“That’s really lovely, Harry,” Louis says, softly stroking his thumb across Harry’s with a smile.

“Yeah,” he wipes at his eyes slightly, “Sorry, overly cheesy and sentimental is my life story,” he laughs, and Louis squeezes his hand again.

“I think it’s sweet you really care about this place,” Louis tells him, and they end up smiling dumbly at each other again for a few minutes. Harry likes Louis’ messy fringe, the longest piece skimming his cheekbone, and his sparkling blue eyes, and his pale pink lips.

“Oi! Move your hands,” Barbara broke their bubble as she set down their plates in front of them, “If you make a mess, I’m not cleaning it up,” she punctuates this statement with a pointed look at the salt spilt on the table.

“Thank you, Babs, shoo please,” Harry gestures for her to leave, and she blows him a kiss and walks off to the kitchen.

“It’s cool to see how comfortable you are with your employees,” Louis tells him, taking his hand back to start eating, making Harry’s palm itch, but he turns to his own meal.

“Yeah, I wanted to make sure my staff and I had the same amount of comfort with each other, it was really important to me,” Harry explains, and Louis nods, mouth full of food. The two eat in silence for a few minutes, Harry glances up ever so often, only to catch Louis staring back, making them both smile, before going back to eating. Halfway through their meals, a knock on the table gains his attention, and he looks up to see a beaming Barbara, and Zayn with a smaller grin of his own, holding a tray with three milkshakes.

“Extra cherries,” he winks, setting down of the shakes, the one with two straws, between Louis and Harry, before walking over to the other couple. 

Harry realizes what that means as Zayn walks off, and he looks over to the kitchen where Liam and Niall are standing, trying, and failing, to look casual, then looks at Barbara who has bright eyes and looks like she’s about to burst. Finally, he turns back to a confused Louis, looking at their cherry-less milkshake. He goes to speak, but Harry grabs his hand, with a finger to his lips, and silently points toward the couple Zayn is serving.

“”Here you are, ladies,” he says, setting them both down, “Two chocolate milkshakes, one with extra cherries. Enjoy!” he tells them, the blonde smiling up at him, the brunette swallowing deeply, face pale, yet determined. Zayn quickly turns on his heel, near-sprinting to get away from the impending moment. The brunette girl looked over to where Harry was sitting, who smiled and gave a thumbs up, before she turns back to her girlfriend, who just noticed the ring and was openly gaping, eyes already filling with tears, the other girl sliding out of her seat, dropping to both knees and grabbing her hands.

“Holly Leanna Lane,” she starts, “Three years ago I fell asleep in my 8:00am psychology lecture, and the girl I had been sitting next to for over a month, and never talked to, offered me her notes after I woke up. At that moment, I didn’t know that that girl would become the love of my life, my best friend, the one I could lean on, and who could lean back if, and when, she needed to,” the blonde girl had tears free falling at this point, and Harry’s own eyes felt damp, “Holly, you are my home. You are the warmth on a cold day, the sweetness in sour candy. You are the one I want to wake up next to everyday, the one I want to hold in my arms, and the one I want to see at the end of the aisle, all dressed up in white. I love you with everything in my heart, and I would be really happy if you would agree to marry me,” the brunettes voice was completely choked up by the time she reached I love you, and her  now- fiancée furiously nodded yes before throwing herself into the girl’s arms, both hiccuping with sobs as they hold each other.

“ALRIGHT!!” Niall cheers, and the six onlookers burst into applause, Barbara and Liam with tears in their eyes, Niall grinning ear-to-ear, and Zayn beaming so wide his eyes were slits. Harry looks across the table to see Louis sniffling and wiping at his eyes, and his face breaks into a wide grin at the now engaged couple tangled in each other as they rose from the floor, and the six went to congratulate them.

“Congratulations, babes,” Harry tells them, clasping hands with the taller brunette, Barbara next to him squealing with Holly about the now on her left hand, shining in the light of the diner.

“Thank you so much,” she smiles at him, eyes shining with joy. Harry falls to the back of their group, so as to let the others give their well wishes, all of them fawning over the ring. Harry watches Louis’ face as he surveys the ring, and he’s suddenly struck by how much he wants that future with the smaller man. He knows it’s probably a little too earlier to be thinking about those things after only two kind-of dates, but the smile on his face and affection in his heart didn’t care. So when Louis walks back over to where Harry was standing, he didn’t overthink anything, just wrapped his arms around Louis’ waist and pulled him in, their lips meeting. Louis gasps slightly at first contact, but quickly melts into it, putting his arms around the taller man’s neck. Harry brings up his left hand to stroke his thumb along Louis’ cheekbone, and he faintly notes the cheers of his friends, and the two girls, making Harry smile into the kiss, feeling Louis smile back. The two pull away slowly, and blue eyes met green.

“I’ve wanted to do that the past two months,” Louis confides, smiling shyly.

“Me too,” Harry replies.

“I really like you,”

“I really like you too,”

“I’d like to take you on more dates,”

“I’d like that,”

They hold each other and continue to smile, while the others cheer for them and the other couple, and all Harry can think about is another memory being made here.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3 years later

 

“HLT had quite a few fancy cars outside,” Niall informs Harry when he walks in from the brisk November air, cheeks rosy, smile as wide as it was when they met nine years ago.

“Lou said a few big shot producers wanted to check out his newest addition,” Harry replies proudly, remembering fondly of Louis’ bright eyes earlier this morning, (“My group, Haz. Mine! This could be huge for the studio!”)

“Our boys growing up so fast,” Niall muses, wiping at a fake tear, before running off to find Barbara, (his now  _ official _ girlfriend). 

Harry rolled his eyes with a smile, turning back to continue wiping pie crumbs from the counter, “Styles!” a hefty man sat down in front of Harry, a large grin on his face.

“Hey, James!” Harry greets back, smiling widely at the man. He had left town a few weeks prior, a big job he said, but now he was back and jovial as ever.

“Curly, what’s been going on in our small little town?” James questions as Harry pours him some coffee  The two men catch up on their lives, making idle chit-chat while the diner breathes around them. It was around midday, and a lot of high schoolers came in, both looking to escape the cold, and a place to eat and study. Ashton and Jade had their hands full with the ever growing queue of people lined up at the door. Perrie had already came out to see Harry, and adjust his shirt collar with a knowing smirk at the bruises along his collarbones.

“Tell me, H,” James starts with a glint in his eyes, leaning forward on the counter, “What’s with the new picture next to the menu?” he asks, and Harry turns toward the picture with a soft smile, warmth running through his veins.

“Thats-” he begins, but is quickly cut off by a higher voice.

“Our wedding picture,” Louis breaks in, swinging behind the counter, putting his arm around Harry’s waist. Harry turns to face his husband, seeing a similar smile on his face.

“It is,” Harry confirms, leaning down to seal his lips against Louis’. He thinks of raspberries and maple syrup. He thinks of 3A.M. and sleepy eyes. He thinks of milkshakes with extra cherries. He thinks of home.

**Author's Note:**

> That's all for now folks. Please leave feedback if you enjoyed, or if you didn't, constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated :)  
> find me @tequilacollarbones on tumblr  
> bye :)


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